The previous show I reviewed, Infinity Train, is my favorite cartoon of 2019. However, the show we'll be looking at here, Ricky Zoom, is my least favorite cartoon of 2019. I'll explain why in this review.
First of all, this show is yet another "slap a face on a vehicle and call it a day show". Ever since Thomas the Tank Engine, we've gotten all sorts of franchises about talking vehicles. Some are good, like Thomas (obviously), Tugs, Theodore Tugboat, and Pixar Cars. Some are bad, like DisneyToon's Planes and Blaze and the Monster Machines. And then you have, whatever this.....thing is. The show's crew and production company should be a red flag. Entertainment One is responsible for PJ Masks and Peppa Pig, both of which are awful for kids (although Peppa Pig is great meme fuel). The show is created by Alexander Bar, who created this terrible show called Mike the Knight. Though I why I think that show is terrible is another review for another day.
With all these aspects in mind, all the bad elements of the aforementioned shows, as well as other generic modern preschool shows, came together to form an abomination known as Ricky Zoom. Ricky and his friends even look like abominations. They have a huge eyes and mouth. That is not a good look for a motorcycle at all. It can get pretty creepy. I imagine that a bunch of toddlers would be scared and would cry whenever Ricky Zoom came on.
Speaking of Ricky and his friends, they have no personality at all, aside from them being the generic kid stereotype (cheerful, excitable and nice). Seriously, how hard is it to come up with a three-dimensional personality. Shows like Ready Jet Go, Let's Go Luna, and Molly of Denali are great at fleshing out characters, and they're all aimed at preschoolers just like Ricky Zoom. That just goes to show that being a preschool show is no excuse to have characters that have the depth of sandpaper. They also have stupid names. Loop? Scootio? Poor kids, I imagine they'd get bullied for having weird names in real life.
The show is also an utter chore to watch. It's just colorful characters doing boring things, nothing more. The only appeal that this show has is "Look Mommy! Look at the motorcycle!", which seems what the show is trying to achieve, and the plastic-like animation helps establish its toyetic nature. Don't be surprised if you see Ricky Zoom toys everywhere next Christmas. The writing is way too simple for a British children's show. I love British kids shows because they all seem to have this unique brand of witty writing - Thomas, Tugs, Hey Duggee, Ben and Holly, Sarah and Duck, even Peppa Pig can be smart from time to time. But noooo, that's not the case with Ricky Zoom, which is the equivalent of jingling keys in a baby's face.
The only redeeming quality of the show is the voice acting. I'm a sucker for British accents, and the child actors do a good a job of bringing the characters to life. Plus, they have Keith Wickham, an extremely versatile actor (seriously, just check out his voices on Thomas & Friends, he has a wide vocal range) on board. Maybe if the character designs were less creepy, the characters had more personality, the plots were more interesting, and the writing was smarter, perhaps this show would be good. But it all failed. Not even kids like it, as the premiere had low ratings for Nick Jr.
